Compound metal and process of making the same.



W. M. PAGE. COMPOUND METAL AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

' APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 1911'.-

1,125,161, Patented Jan.19,1915.

WILIIAM MARSHALL PAGE, OF RIDLEY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA.

COMPOUND METAL AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that .1, WILLIAM MARSHA LL PAGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ridley Park, inthe county of Delaware and. State of Pennsylvania, have 1nvent'ed certain new and. useful Improvements in Compound Metals and Processes of Making the Same, of which the follow-' ing is a specification.

This invention relates to compound metals and processes ofmaking the same; and it comprises a compound metal body having a copper body with a.plurality of incorporated or embodied distributed isolated preformed copper-clad steel linear longitudi nally arranged elements of relatively small diameter distributed therethrough and withinits exterior surface,'such copper-clad ele;

ments comprising layers or bodies of copper and steel united together by a weld un on; and it comprises a process of making such conductors wherein a plurality of copperclad rods, bars or th'e like elements having a weld-united copper sheathv and steel core, and possessing the properties of drawn and worked metal, are placed in a mold in properly located, spaced and distributed arrangement and a body of copper or cupriferoius alloy is cast aroundland among said rods in said mold to .form a reinforced billet; the 1 assemblage or billet being afterward worked down to the desired dimensions to secure a compound body of copper reinforced by embodied threadlike incorporated Weldcoated steel threads weld-united thereto; the

operation being repeated one or more times,

" if desired, by placing rods,- bars, or the like and strung wires, it isdesirab of the metal so producedfwithin'a mold,

casting in copper and working down anew;

all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed;

For many electrical-purposesi a compound conductor comprising steel'and copper. the steel giving the tensi e strength and the copper conductivit Until re-- cently, however, it has been lmpossible to provide satisfactory material of this character. Unless the copper and steel be so welded together that they-canbe oonjointly worked down and cannot part in use or seam apart, a steel cored compound wire of the two metals carrying, as has sometimes Specification of LettersP atent.

Application filed .Tu'ne 23. 1911.

as r01 hung 1 e. to provide Serial No. 634,885.

bcen proposed, a relatively thick core of steel, is not durable or satisfactory in use.

Copper and steel have difl'erent rates of expansion, and if a wu'e carrying a copper sheath, for example, and a relatively large steel core be not ,welded together, under changes of temperature in use, the copper Patented Jan. 19, 1915;

tends to creep. The greater the proportionate thickness of thesteel core as com pared to the copper sheath-the greater are these difliculties; Further, since copper and steel stand at widely different points in the galvanic scale, the presence of ,a crevice or line of separation between two layers of I these metalstends to accelerate corrosion, rapidly making the compound wire useless. With a heavy cored unwelded wire the seam is a constant source of trouble. Aside from the opening of crevices or seams by the action of temperature changes, which 4 will always occur with unwelded material,

it is obvious that with relatively heavy and still bodies of copper and steel, such as are produced in attempting to roll down together a heavy steel-core in a heav copper sleeve it is substantially impractlcable to get the abutting surfaces into exact contact at all points; and any point of se aration 'or fault or flaw in a compound bil et reappears in exaggerated dimensions in the wire made from 1t. And it is of course not practicable' for wlres intendedfor use out of doors to be composed of copper and'naked steel wires stranded together, since in' such .an assemblage the steel rapidly rusts out.

Recently however satisfactory compound wire has been produced by welding together copper and-steel by methods such as are disclosed in Patent 853,716. A compound bil let'or-ingot of copper and steel united. by

the process ofthat patent may be drawn to compound wire of any size esired and 'it has been satisfactorily demonstrated that this wireais'not subject to corrosion, gal- "vanic action or parting. This material is ordinarily made with a central core of steel and a welded on sheath of copper, since for copper on the outside; the steel" must not be exposed. For commercial purposes it is often 'made'witha copper sheath having l about 40 per cent, ofthe total sectionalarea,

exposed'wires and the like there must be the 'stee'l core repjgesentin the remaining-60 I body though it must not be exposed; that is, must not occur on the exterior. Wire of such higher conductivity may be made from' copper-steel billets formed according to the process of the patent above referred to. But where conductivities as high as 60 to 70 per cent. are desired, it requires great skill to roll the billets properly to factory product. For-many wire .purposes where a wire is required to posses a given conductivity, a large. diameter steel core gives greater strength "and stiflness than is necessary, and at the same time adds surplus weight. Neither is a'single central core of steel the most advantageous form of reinforcement and particularly where it is desired to have a fairly flexible yet strong wire of high elastic limit. In order, to secure a high tensile strength, a good grade of, steel is usually employed for the core and the wire making operations give it a temper, so that a steel cored wire is usually rather stiff and springy. For many electrical pur-' poses it is desirable that the wire should be mainly copper withreinforcing steel so distributed in it as to give a maximum tensile strength with a minimum weight of steel and a maximum conductivity and flexibility. For carrying heavy currents the greater the percentage of copper'that can be used in a wire of a given cross section the better, while at the same time the wire must be structurally strong. Any copper wire between poles is apt to sag and neck under the infiuence of strains and temperature changes, since copper wiredia-s a low elastic limit, and of course when stretched beyond this elastic limit, it does not recover itsoriginal section.

If there be any neckingcat any point in the (l5 wire the carrying power of the whole wire 'is reduced, while at the points of reduced section there is a proportional loss in tensile strength and there may be an undue development of heat. In all electrical wire and material 'of this character it is desirable that the copper'and steel shall be welded together, and while for the formation of a weld-union the presence of an alloyed area between the two metals seems to benecessary, yet thea-mount of iron occurring in the main/body of the copper should be restricted to a minimum; there should be no penetration of iron beyond the necessary alloyed area-into the main body of the copper. The presenceof a tenth of one per cent. of iron as an alloy in the main copper sheath reduces the conductive power of such .copper for electrical current inordinately.

In the present invention I have devised an improvement in compound conductors and ive a satis- I I provide a wire having a number of discrete longitudinal steel threadlike bodies located near the .periphery and spaced away from each other. This gives me a desirable type of reinforcement, giving the wire a very high tensile strength for the amount of steel used. The absolute amount of steel in the wire required for a high tensile strength is much reduced with the reinforcing steel thus distributed through the body of the copper as discrete threads of small diameter, and a much more flexible wire is obtained. In making the material, I use rods which have been previously coated with a weldunited body of copper, and I cast copper around and among them to produce a compound reinforced billet. By using copper clad rods as reinforcing cores or bodies in producing such a reinforced billet, the cast copper welds to the copper coating which itself is already Welded to the steel, producing an integral body which can be. drawn down'in such a way as to reduce the included steel to threads of a very small diameter. There is no possibility of these threads separating from the body of the copper in the finished rod or wire. By using steel bodies or rods carrying a preformed protective coating of pure copper, contamination of the cast copper by solution of iron in the operation of casting copper around the rods cannot of course occur. The solid metal with which the pure fluid copper comes into contact is itself pure copper.

And with the solid metal and the fluid metal both'pure copper, it is easy to secure an integral union or weld therebetwee'n. As the copper. coating is already welded to the steel,

the billet is integral.

By first coating a steel billet with copper after the manner of Patent 853,716 and working it down to rods, rods may be produced carrying a welded-on substantial coating of pure copper, this coating being materially improved in physical character during the working operation. During the working an exceptionally strong metal is produced; The coating of the rods for this purpose may be advantageously about 40 per cent. of the total section. By locating as many such rods as are desired in a mold and ingot is produced carrying distributed isolated preformed, copper-clad. steel reinforcing elements. However the rods may be arranged or clustered, they should be spaced away from the mold to allow formation of a peripheral layer of copper containing no steel. The size of the rods and their number may be as desired, this depending on the amount of reinforcement required. On now rolling and drawing down the compound billet to the size desired, the steel cores of casting copper among and around the spaced and isolated rods, a compound billet the rods -are-reduced to threads and a compound wire is produced having isolated strengthening threads. of steel contained within and reinforcing it, these threads being within the periphery of the compound wire and so located as to give an outer protectivelayer of copper. For most purposes where a relatively flexible strong wire is desired in the finished material it is desirable to have about 10 percent. of steel and this steel may occur as a few comparatively coarse threads or as a larger number of finer threads. The reinforcements may be located. within the wire in any arrangement desired; they may be clustered in any Way or be a'series ofspaced, preformed,cop'perclad steel threads located in annular arrangement in'a layer near the periphery.

The coated roads or other shapes employed as core materials in the present invention are best of the character of material described in Patent 893,932, having a core of steel and a weld-united substantial coating of-copper, the union being such as to resist temperature changes and mechanical. stresses and separation. suchmaterial may as stated he made by the process of Patent 853,716, wherein steel is given a preliminary film coating by contactlng with supermolten or superheated cop er andv is thereafter united with a substantial body of cast copper. This cast copper should be pure. The material so produced should be worked down tothe dimensions desired in the present invention as by rolling to 3/8 inch rod or other shape where comparatively. small compound billets, say round billets of about SIX to seven. inchesin diameter are to be made. The particular size of the rods used of course depends both on the size of the billet to be produced and on the percentage of steel desired in the billet,

and in the final wire, the number of threads of steel desired, etc. Their shape is alsoamatter of choice. Whatever the shape. of

' the rod this shape will be substantially prei billets are' to be made.

served in the final wire; round rods giving round threads, oval rods giving oval threads, channeled rods giving channeled threads, and so on. Where a maximum stifi'ness of the wire and minimum amount of steel is desired, it is sometimes best-to use rods rolled in the shape of an I or T or a channel. But ordinarily, round, hexagonal, octaonal, etc, rods are best. It is in general sirable that the cores be about 1/2 inch to.

3/8 inch in diameter where moderate sized ere it is desired to obtain the steel directly as very fine threads by a moderate reductionas' in making coarse wire wlth fine reinforcements, in-

stead of using 3/8 inch solid bars, a smaller size rod orbarmaybe substituted or copper clad wire may be stranded. to produce -55 3/8 rope and lengths of this stranded ma- .terial employed. If an integral union of unite easily therewith; The surface of the coated rods may be pickled with hydrochloric'acidv to form a-little chlorid of copper thereon. This seems to aid in producmg. union between the cast copper and the coppered surface; If it be desired for any reason not to have a metallic union between the reinforcingelements and the cast copper,'the surface of the former may be oxidized. Any convenient type of mold may be employed for the casting operation in making the compound billets or ingots. It isg however, often desirable to use, a mold of the type of that described in my'copending application 607,338.; a mold provided with means for maintaining an inert atmosphereof producer gas or'nitrogen therein and having means for casting the copper,

through restricted orifices near its top. A

mold of this type prevents oxidation of the cores and of the metal cast in, and gives of such wire comparable with that of the copper clad material used in this invention, that the billet is a 6x6 billet, it would be re duced to a 3/8 rod in about 20 passes by hot rolling with not over 2 reheatings or heat treatments. It would then be cold drawn to No. 9B. & S. wire in about 6 drafts. ()n the otherhand, in the manufacture of the material of the present invention, a 6x6 steel billet may be coated with copper to give an 8-inch square copper clad billet" and then this reduced to 3/8 rod by operations involving' about 22 passes by hot rolling and And three reheatings or heat treatments. since the steel is rolled and worked inside a temperature-equalizing sheath of copper, it assumes a much more homogeneous, finer grained and stronger structure than is possible to secure in rolling down naked steel. Partly for this reason andpartly because of the heat treatments,- copper clad rod andwire thus produced exhibit a very high tensile strength. Upon now cutting up 3/8 rods of this material, lacing them in a .should be clean and metallic to enable it to mold of a shape and size to form, say, a'

6.5/8 round bil et, casting in copper to form such a billet and reducing the billet to 3/8 rod, there may be 20 more hotrollin passes exerted'on the included steel, with t ree rebeatings or heat treatments. In drawing .this rod to No. 9 wire there may be 9 cold drafts. All this working down results in an. extraordinary improvement of the threadlike lines of steel included within the final compound wire. Such compound wire exhibits'a tensile strength considerably in excess of what would be expected from the combined strengths'of the cross sectional areas of copper and steel present. That is, the effect of incorporating steel threads in the copper body in the present manner is not merely additive as regards strength or, in other words, the tensile strength ofa compound wire of the present invention is greater than the tensile strength of a steel wire having a cross sectional area equal to that of the steel in thecompound wire, plus the tensile strength of a copper wire having a cross sectional area equal to that of .thecopper in the compound wire. The steel threads in this wire correspond in size to very fine, extraordinarily strong wires. Presuming the 3/8 compound thread reinforced rod produced as just described to be cold drawn to No. 9 wire, which will require about 9 drafts, the diameter of each steel thread in the wire will be about .00002 inches. Considering each steel thread as a wire, it may be stated that in the described process of converting the original steel into copper clad rod and then into steel threads in the new compound wire, each such thread wire will have received, say, 42

passes in hot rolling, 6 reheatings or heat treatments and 9 drafts with'cold drawing. The steel in an all-steel wire of the same size as the compound wire (No. 9 B. &- s. would have received probably but two heat treatments, 20 passes by hot rolling and 6 or 7 drafts, cold drawing, and its tensile strength per unit of sectional area as compared to that ofthe steel of the threads of the compound wire, is markedly less. This mode of treatment may be carried as far as desired. After having made a compound primary billet of 3/8 copper coated rod with copper cast around and welded thereto, 3/8 rod rolled from this primary billet may be used as cores or reinforcements for a new secondary billet, made in the same way, which in turn may be reduced to 3/8 inchrod or wire; and so on. The'number of these retreatments may be almost indefinite. In each such'treatment, of course, the steel is converted into finer and finer threads. Presuming 3/8 clad rods containing 60 per cent.

steel to be used in making a 6 5/8 compound primary 'billet, this billet in turn reduced to 3/8 rod, and the new 3/8 rod in turn used as a core material for another orsecondary billet, then this last billet on being drawn down to 3/8 rod would carry steel threads each. ofv a. diameter of approximately .00000066 inches and in a No. 9 wire therefrom, the diameter of each thread would be" approximately .000000062 inches; Ordinarily, steel wire is seldom drawn-below a meager.

i just described, be required carrying 10 per cent. steel, then in making the primary billet about 130 of such 60 per cent. coated 3/8 rods may be used. These 130 rods will represent about ll per cent. of the sectional area of the primary billet and with 60 per cent. steel in the rods the area of steel will be 25 per cent. Tn the secondary billet and in the wire drawn therefrom, using 130 rods in the primary billet and 130 primary rods in the secondary billet there will be 16,900 steel threads; or, strictly speaking,

16,900 copper clad steel threads.v And the steel of these 16,900 threads together will represent about 10 per cent. of the area of the Whole secondary wire. It may be taken as an accepted fact that with each new working there is-a gradual increase in the strength and other desirable physical properties of 'steel, whether this working be hot or cold and especially in cold working as in wiredrawing.- Subsequent annealing never removes the efiect of this workingv altoget-her. is done under the most favorable conditions, because while thesteel is being reduced to excessively vfine threads (or the equivalents of wires,) yetthese threads have been produced with -a distribution and equalization of heat and pressure which is impossible to produce, with naked steel in wire making. And this working is done under total ex clusion of air. Furthermore, the eifect'of working and especially cold working on any metal isof course superficial; the harden- And in the present case, Working given distance below the surface; with a comparatively large core of steel, most of the effect is in this outer layers. With fine threads of steel, in a billet or wire and with these threadsa limited distance below the peripheral surface the steel receives the full effect of the working, and the more so since the copper in which the threads are embedded 'acts,-in away, as,a fluid pressure transmitting body. The toughening effect of working is therefore transmitted to and affects the distributed steel threads in a more thorough. way in each pass or draft than in an axiallyreinforced wire'where the steel exists as a comparatively thick central core spaced away as far as possible from'the working tool. With a given amount of steel existing. as a plurality of distributed, isolatedrelatively fine incorporated threads, a stronger and tougher wire can be made in' a given number of passes, or, conversely,

erse section of-a reinforced primary billet;

Fig. 3 is a similar section of a primary Wire such as may be drawn from the billet of Fig. 2; Fig. at shows a similar primary billet with reinforcing bodies in several annularly arranged sets; Fig. 5 is a similar \'ie\\' of a. billet with the reinforcing bodies clustered in the center; Fig. 6 is a similar view of a billet having the reinforcing rods in star-shaped alinement; Fig. 7 is a section of a secondary billet; and Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section of a flat sheet bar or billet adapted for making sheets and other fiat articles.

In the showing of Fig. 1, element 1.is a mold set in base plate 2 and having a top 3 provided with pouring inlet 4. Gas inlet 5 allows the maintenance of an indifferent atmosphere in the mold during the pouring operation. Outlet 6 allows escape of gas. As shown, the mold contains a body of cast copper. 7 having embodied in it a plurality of rods of copper clad material, the steel core in these rods being marked 8, and the copper sheath 9. In Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 the copper body is marked 7 and the'reinforcing rods 10. In Fig. 7 the copper body (7) contains embodied primary rods 11, each of such primary rods containing 'a plurality of steel threads 12.

For conductor wire, and particularly wire from a primary billet, it is better to use copper clad rods of the character described carrying av substantial coat of copper, rather than rods which have been inerely alloy filmed by dipping, asthere is-less risk of contamination of the cast in copperby iron.

As stated, the reinforcing bodies or rods used may be square, flat, round, oval, hex-agonal, octagonal, channeled, etc.' If stranded copper clad wire in rope or cable form be employed, as by using sections of such a cable in lieu of rods, the fineness of the steel threads in a'primary billet or Wire can be made as great as desired. But a. stranded cable of clad wire 18 more ex ensive than-a rolled 'rod. Where-reinforce brass, bronze, or the like cupriferous metal is desired, brass, bronze or the like may be castaround the dad metal reinforcing rods in the manner described for the casting of copper. The billet may afterward be workeddown in the same manner-as the reinforced copper." Theextreme fineness of thesteelthreads in.

sures that even if one-thread should not be welded to the copper, there'willfbe' nosubstantial avenue for the penetration of moisture, etc. And with, the multiplicity of spaced and isolated threads any break or other injury to one does no particular-harm since the others will not be affected.

Since the material of the present invention isto be a reinforced copper, that is copper reinforced with distributed threads of steel, rather than a copper clad steel, the amount of copper for most purposes should always be relatively great as compared with the amount of steel, at least in the finished article. For the present purposes, 10 to 15 per cent. steel. in the finished article is usually amply suiiicientto give a very big 1 tensile strength while affording .material which is still, as, regards all other prop'ertic's,-

substantially copper. -'With greater amounts f steel, the properties begin to vary more from those of copper; and .while this high steel material is desirable forsome purposes.

properties, yet for high conductivity, high for which it displays unique combinations of strength, flexible conductors, the 10 per cent.

material is desirable. The more steel threads the .total .10 per cent. represents the more flexible is the wire. Material consisting 'of a copper body carrying. higher-percentages, up to 30 or 40 per cent, of fine steel threads is useful for some purposes. A 30 per cent.

material carrying the incorporated steel in the form of several hundred or thousand isolated distributed-threads has very great tensile strength and relative flexibility as com-- pared w'ith'stranded ropes, cables and the like. ,The steel threads are usually much finer and stronger than steel wire can be eommercially produced and are spaced and united by the layers 'of copper in a waywhich erties.

In place of copper clad steel rods orgives-the assemblage special propthreads as reinforcing members, bronze clad,

brass clad,'or aluminum clad steel may be employed to produce primary, secondary, tertiary billets, and so on, in'the-way described for copper clad steel rods. Ordinarily however, copper clad steel is most convenient to use and gives the most satisfactory results; l

While my invention is particularly useful in making rods, wires, and the like, and particularly for conductor purposes, it isalsoapplicable forthe I'nanufacture of sheets,

tubes and other shapes. For many purposes for which copper is used in the arts, be- .cause of its .non-corrodibility, such asevapoi rating devices and the'like, it desirable to' have it of'a somewhat stronger. character.- The size of a vacuum pan, for example, is limited by the structural 'strengthofcopper in available sizes. A vacuum pan must withper, capable of being worked into shapeunder the hammer; the metal must be malleable and flow under the tool. By reinforcing copper with steel in the present invention sheets can be obtained which combine a high tensile strength with a fiowability like that of copper. For this purpose instead of using only longitudinal reinforcing elements it is better to have reinforcing ele ments in two directions. That is, instead of merely clustering longitudinal rods in a mold and casting copper about them, it is better to use rods arranged in two directions. The rods may, and very useful for many purposes, be interlaced in a sort of open fabric. Presuming that strengthening rods of material such as described, be woven into a sort of loose or open fabric, that is in right-angled arrangement, copper cast about them to form a'compound billet and then rolled down into sheets, an article will be secured which is substantially copper so far as its hammering properties are concerned, but

nevertheless has a greaterdegree of strength than copper alone can .have. If the reinforcements be, as is preferable, each of relatively small diameter as regards the body of copper, on cutting the new reinforced sheet to sizes such as are desired, there will be .merely spots of steel exposed; and these spots may, and usually will be too small in diameter to allow corrosion to penetrate far by capillary penetration. They may, of

course, be toucbedwith a soldering iron.

The reinforced sheet may also be punched and drilled to receive rivets and .the like without any substantial exposure of the )reinforcing metal.

Reinforced bars or sheets such as described, which may have reinforcements distributed through the bar or sheet in one or more planes, may of course be converted into structural elements, such as Ts,i"1[ s, channels, cross-sectioned elements, etc. For

7 such material of course perforated plates of strongmetal, expanded metal, or electrically welded woven screen as well as ordinary woven screen material may be employed. But the product, usingsuch materials, does not have the reinforcements spaced and isolated from each other at all points. tion a flat billet" adapted for sheets and other flat shapes and consisting of a copper body 7 having embodied in it a plurality of rods 8 and 8 arranged in twoidirections and atright angles yvith each other.

What ll claim is 1. A reinforced copper article comprising In Fig. 8 T have shown in cross seca body of copper and a plurality of isolated linear elementsofa stronger metal incorporated with and distributed through said body of copper, said linear elements being spaced away from -and in substantially parallel alinement with an outer wall of such copper body.

2. A reinforced copper article comprising a body of copper and a plurality of isolated linear elements of steel incorporated with and distributed through. said body of copper, said elements of steel being spaced away from and in substantially parallel alinement with an outer wall of such copper body. V

3. A reinforced copper article comprising a body of copper and a plurality of isolated linear elements of steel incorporated with and distributed through said body of copper, and spaced away from and in substantially parallel alinement with an outer wall of said copper body, said-linear elements carrying a preformed weld-united coating of copper and having the characteristics of worked. metal.

4:. A reinforced copper article comprising a body of copper and a plurality of isolated linear elements of steel incorporated with and distributed through-said body of copper and spaced away from andin substan-i,

metal incorporated with and distributed through said body of copper, each threadlike element being of a diameter relatively minute as compared with the sectional area of such copper body, and being spaced away from and in substantially parallel alinement with an outer wall of such copper body.

6. A reinforced copper article comprising a body of copper and a plurality of isolated.

threadlike linear elements of steel incorporated with and distributed through said body of copper, each'steel element being of a diameter relatively minute as compared with the sectional, area of such copper body, and being spaced away from and in substantially parallel alinement with an outer wall of such copper body.

7. A reinforced copper article comprising a body of copper and a plurality of isolated threadlike linear elements vof steel incorporated with and distributed through said body of copper, each steel element being of a diameter relatively minute as compared with the sectional area of such copper body, spaced away from and in substantially para'llel alinement with an outer wall of such threadlike linear elements of steel incorpora ted with and distributed through said body of copper, each steel element being of a diameter relatively minute as compared with the sectional area of such copper body,

. spaced away from and in substantially par: allel alinement with an outer wall of said rality of bodiesof weld-united copper and co )er bod said linear elements carr in a preformed weld-united coating of copper,

having the characteristics of'worked metal and the steel being integrally united to said body of copper through said coating of copper.

9. A reinforced copper article comprising a body of, copper and a plurality of distributed and isolated linear reinforcing elements of metal spaced away from and in substantially parallel alinement with an outer wall of said copper body, each such reinforcing element comprising a plurality of threads of stronger metal in parallel alinement.

10. A reinforced copper article comprising a body'of copper and a plurality of distributed and isolated linear reinforcing elements of metal incorporated with said body of copper, and .in substantially parallel alineinent with an outer wall thereof, each such reinforcing. element comprising a plurality of threads of, steel in parallel aline ment.

11. A reinforced copper article comprisplurality of Wall of said body of copper,- each such reinforcing body coini'irising'a plurality of par allel threadsof'weld-unitcd copper and steel.

12. A reinforced copper article comprising a. body of copper and v a plurality of distributed and isolated linear elemcntsfof metal spaced away from and'in substantially parallel alinement with an outer wall of said copper body, each such reinforcing body comprising a plurality of parallel preformed threads of steel carrying a weld united copper coating and having the properties of worked metal, the steel of the reinforcing bodies being integrally united to said body of copper through said copper- 0 coating. 1

13. The process of making reiiiforced copper articles which comprises placing a plui steel in spaced and isolated arrangement within a mold and at a distance from its walls and casting copper'into said mold.'

coating of copper-in space and isolated arrangement within' a mold and at a distance from its walls, casting copper into said 'mold and extending the billet so formed.

15. The process-of making reinforced cope per articles which comprises placing a-plu-* rality or bodies comprising weld-united cop-- per and steel in spaced and isolated arrangeiient within a mold and at a distance from its walls,casting copper into said mold and extending the billet so formed to produce rods.

16. The process of making reinforced copper articles which comprises placing a plurality of bodies comprising weld united copper and steel in spaced and isolated arrangement within a mold and at a distance from its walls, casting copper into said mold, extending the billet so formed to produce rods, placing said rods in ,a-mold in spaced arrangementand casting copper thereabout to produce a scoudary'billet.

17. The process of-ma'king. reinforced copper articles which comprises placing a )lllrality of bodies comprising weld united .coppcr and steel in spaced and isolated arrangement within a mold and at adistance from its walls, casting copper into said mold, extend ng the billet so formed to producerods, placing a plurality of said rods in a mold in spaced arrangement andcastmg copper thereabout -to produce -.a secondary billet and extending said secondary billet.

18. The process of making reinforced copper articles which coin-prises casting molten copper against and around a plurality of spaced steel bodies. coated with welded-on copper, and allowing said molten copper to set thereagainst.

19.. The process of making reinforced copper articles which comprises placing a plurality of bodies comprising steel: in spaced andv isolated arrangement within a mold and at a substantial distancefroni its walls, and casting copper into said mold.

20. The process of making reinforced cop per articles which comprises casting molten copper among and around a (group of spaced bodies comprising steel, an allowing said molten copper to solidify intoa body uniting said spaced bodies and forming a substantial .layer surrounding said group as a whole.

ing said spaced bodies and forming a substantial layer surrounding said grou as a whole, the 'ratio of copper to steel'm the- 13s allowing said resulting reinforced article being relatively large. 22. The process of making reinforced copper articles which comprises placinga plurality of bodies comprising steel having a coating of a softer metal unitedthereto in spaced and isolated arrangement Within a mold and at a substantial distance from its Walls, and casting copper into said mold.

23. A reinforced copper article comprising 'a body of copper and a plurality of I quantity. 15

In testlmony whereof, ll affix my signature in the presence of two subscribing W1tnesses.-

\ WILLIAM MARSHALL PAGE.

Witnesses:

K. P. MGELROY, FRANK R. CHAMBERS; J r. 

